The cup and saucer showing the Moscow Kremlin and the inscription ‘Moscow. USSR’ was produced at the Dmitrov Porcelain Factory. Originally it had a different name — ‘Verbilki Porcelain’, according to the location — in the town of Verbilki. This is the first private factory in Russia for the production of the noble material — it was founded in the XVIII century and became world famous. The factory had many awards and prizes and was considered an honorary member of the Kremlin Suppliers Guild.
The founder of the factory was the Englishman Franz Gardner. The enterprise he set up produced porcelain of the same quality as the best European samples. Also, the factory was famous for its sculptural works, which decorated the interiors of many rich houses of Russia and Europe. Along with exclusive products for the imperial palaces and homes of the aristocracy, Gardner established mass production of tableware as well. It was highly valued and affordable not only for the rich people.
After the revolution in 1917, the factory was nationalized and got a new name — the Dmitrovskiy porcelain factory. In Soviet times, the factory had to restructure its work: it was mainly focused on the production of mass-produced porcelain. During the civil war and the years of post-war devastation the factory produced vases, cutlery and crockery. The Soviet authorities demanded that the products comply with the aesthetics of the young state, therefore propaganda porcelain was also produced here: there appeared dishes decorated with the inscriptions ‘Everybody to the cultural outing’ and ‘For the tractorization assistance loan’, cups with the portrait of the All-Union Elder Kalinin and dishes with portraits of aviators.
In the first years of the Soviet Union, the plant still continued to produce products according to the old designs, but then abandoned them. Only at the end of the 1990s the factory, experiencing an economic crisis, turned to the designs of the pre-revolutionary era. At that time it became a private property and was renamed to JSC ‘Verbilki Porcelain’. Nowadays it is one of the few working porcelain factories in Russia.
The founder of the factory was the Englishman Franz Gardner. The enterprise he set up produced porcelain of the same quality as the best European samples. Also, the factory was famous for its sculptural works, which decorated the interiors of many rich houses of Russia and Europe. Along with exclusive products for the imperial palaces and homes of the aristocracy, Gardner established mass production of tableware as well. It was highly valued and affordable not only for the rich people.
After the revolution in 1917, the factory was nationalized and got a new name — the Dmitrovskiy porcelain factory. In Soviet times, the factory had to restructure its work: it was mainly focused on the production of mass-produced porcelain. During the civil war and the years of post-war devastation the factory produced vases, cutlery and crockery. The Soviet authorities demanded that the products comply with the aesthetics of the young state, therefore propaganda porcelain was also produced here: there appeared dishes decorated with the inscriptions ‘Everybody to the cultural outing’ and ‘For the tractorization assistance loan’, cups with the portrait of the All-Union Elder Kalinin and dishes with portraits of aviators.
In the first years of the Soviet Union, the plant still continued to produce products according to the old designs, but then abandoned them. Only at the end of the 1990s the factory, experiencing an economic crisis, turned to the designs of the pre-revolutionary era. At that time it became a private property and was renamed to JSC ‘Verbilki Porcelain’. Nowadays it is one of the few working porcelain factories in Russia.
